Valley View: County needs efficient justice system, not bigger jail

10:05 PM,
Jun. 8, 2013

Jeffrey Schneider

Written by

Jeffrey Schneider

Dutchess County spends nearly $7 million every year to house hundreds of inmates in jails outside the county. The Dutchess County Legislature is proposing to "solve" this problem by either expanding the county jail or building an entirely new facility. In my view, there are several steps that the county should take before considering this idea. The current system is broken and cannot be fixed with a larger jail.

The County's Criminal Justice System Needs Assessment Report makes several important recommendations that, if implemented, would dramatically reduce the number of jail cells ...